Complex Casework – Dealing with Multifaceted Casework Enquiries is an advanced, practical course for experienced caseworkers and managers working with these pressures.
Participants will explore how to establish the full circumstances, identify urgent concerns, protect deadlines and coordinate action across different organisations. The course also examines supervision, staff support, handovers and the capacity required to manage demanding cases within a substantial workload.
Who Should Attend?
This course is designed for:
- Experienced caseworkers handling complex or urgent constituent enquiries.
- Senior caseworkers and casework team leaders.
- Constituency office managers supervising busy teams.
- Staff handling distressing disclosures, threats and safeguarding concerns.
- Managers reviewing backlogs, staff support and resourcing requirements.
It is particularly suitable for staff with practical casework experience, including those who have attended Introduction to Casework or Critical Casework training.
What the Course Covers
Understanding connected problems
Explore how housing, immigration, benefits, debt, health, family circumstances and criminal justice issues interact. Practise asking focused questions, preparing a factual case summary and identifying what needs further investigation.
Responding to serious and harrowing enquiries
Work through scenarios involving suicide concerns, threats, sexual violence, traumatic bereavement and constituents frightened for their safety. Examine how to communicate calmly, recognise the need for urgent professional help and follow appropriate escalation procedures.
The focus is on the responsibilities of an MP’s office: recognising concerns, making appropriate referrals, coordinating action and maintaining clear records.
Safeguarding, exploitation and criminal justice
Consider forced marriage, sexual trafficking, gang involvement and child criminal exploitation. Explore cases in which someone may need protection while facing criminal allegations, alongside the needs of victims, witnesses and affected family members.
Prioritising action within thousands of enquiries
Examine how urgent information can emerge through calls, repeated emails, attachments and older voicemails. Practise identifying changed circumstances, protecting important deadlines and organising a coordinated response while managing existing casework.
Coordinating agencies and communicating safely
Develop action plans involving councils, the Home Office, DWP, NHS services, police, legal advisers and specialist support organisations. Consider safe contact arrangements, sensitive information, authority to act and realistic expectations.
Practise making focused requests, confirming responsibility and escalating unresolved concerns when constituents are being passed between services.
Supporting staff and assessing capacity
Explore supervision, named backup cover and reliable handovers. Consider the effect of repeated exposure to distressing accounts and how managers can arrange appropriate support following difficult contact.